New Millennium Trail Underpass Connects Lake County Recreation Areas
A new trail tunnel under Route 45 safely connects Raven Glen and Ethel’s Woods forest preserves in Antioch. Courtesy of the Lake County Forest Preserves
The Lake County Forest Preserves (LCFP) has completed a new underpass and trail extension that safely connects Raven Glen and Ethel's Woods forest preserves in Antioch for pedestrians, bicyclists and equestrians. The project includes a 145-foot concrete pedestrian tunnel under Route 45 just north of Miller Road, and 0.8 miles of new paved and gravel trails to join the two preserves via the Millennium Trail and Greenway.
“The new trail tunnel combines these two neighboring preserves, divided by a busy U.S. highway, and creates a greenway corridor for improved land management and expanded outdoor recreation opportunities,” says Randy Seebach, LCFP’s director of planning and land preservation.
The project is partially funded by a federal Transportation Alternatives Program grant administered through the Illinois Department of Transportation. Seebach notes, “The project features the longest of nine tunnels in the forest preserves’ extensive trail system.” It was built to accommodate plans to widen the current stretch of Route 45 that will become a four-lane road with a median and turn lane at Miller Road.
The underpass is a crucial element of the LCFP’s planned extension of the Millennium Trail and Greenway, a 41-mile regional trail connecting central, western and northern portions of Lake County to the Des Plaines River Trail. Close to 33 miles of the trail are open to hikers, bicyclists and cross-country skiers, connecting 10 preserves and 10 municipalities. When completed, it will link 13 schools, 12 municipalities, 18 parks, and 12 forest preserves.
